During COVID-19 isolation, many have turned to music for solace.
From police singing and dancing in Spain to living-room concerts by famous artists to celebrities performing “Imagine” and getting ripped for it, pandemic-related tunes are there for us.
And then there’s the stuff people are singing to laugh in the face of doom. Coronavirus song parodies are popping up everywhere; some have even gone viral.
Here are some of the best to ease your suffering right now:
Not sure how Disney feels about this, but YouTuber Sharon Luxenburg (with lead vocalist Miri Zhavi) dubbed over the “Belle” scene from the animated “Beauty and the Beast” (1991). In Luxenburg’s version, Belle strolls through town obliviously as villagers plead with her to observe social distancing and other guidelines, especially in a morbidly hilarious reworking of the scene in which she takes a new book to read.
The entire Marsh family of Kent, England, put together “Lock Down,” an impressive reworking of “One Day More” from “Les Miserables.”
Mom, dad and four kids sing six different parts:
“One more day of online school”
“Have you seen my brother’s hair?”
“Our exams have all been pulled”
“Do I change my underwear?”
Even Anne Hathaway, who starred in the 2012 film adaptation of “Les Miserables,” was impressed. She posted the video on her Instagram account with her seal of approval: “Bravo!!!!!”
Several YouTubers have realized the Bee Gees’ iconic “Stayin’ Alive” could be turned into “Stayin’ Inside.” One of the most accomplished versions is by Brent McCollough and friends (with 1.16 million views and counting).
Speaking of accomplished, “Grounded Show” created a “Bohemian Rhapsody” parody that does a pretty fair job of meeting that Queen song’s considerable challenges (vocals by Adrian Grimes, lyrics by Dana Jay Bein). “Mama / I just killed a man / Didn’t stay inside in bed / I walked past him, now he’s dead.”
YouTuber Jon Pumper used the Beach Boys’ last No. 1 hit, “Kokomo,” for the basis of “My Corona Home”: “Playing with styrofoam … my feet, they reek / Haven’t showered in a week.”
Musician Chris Mann has had enough time on his hands to do some popular coronavirus parodies, including send-ups of Adele (“Hello / How are you? / Do your fingers hurt from scrolling through / The cat memes on your iPhone?,” coming in with 5 million views) and Madonna (“Stay Home Vogue” has racked up 1.6 million views).
But a parody of the Knack’s 1979 hit, “My Sharona,” has proved insidiously catchy.
How could there not be 1,000 versions of “My Corona” by now? “When you gonna get to me / G-get to me? / Is it just a matter of time, Corona? / Will I kill my family / in quarantine?” That one is closing in on 4 million views on YouTube.
But what could top Neil Diamond himself, suckering fans into learning something about CDC guidelines for safety during the COVID-19 pandemic with an updated version of “Sweet Caroline”? Thanks, Neil.
